16 A god's regre

"Why the hell are you here? And why did you drag me in?", Ryan frowned as he asked. Kong Jian replied, "I did say we would meet again in the mortal realm once more, didn't I? And I said that because if your spirits were indeed what I had thought they would be, then it's a very big deal. I would definitely have to warn you about some things". Ryan was even more confused now. Warn him? About what? Also, where was his second spirit? He was sure it wasn't a body spirit. Neither was it a tool, like his bow. So, that only left him one option. A beast spirit. But it should have emerged when it was awakened right? Or at least when he felt the warm spirit mark on his spine.

"Speaking of which, where's my second spirit you lousy old man? I am not able to find it", He complained. Jian facepalmed and said, "You couldn't even figure that out you dumbass? Look behind you!". Ryan turned his head back with a doubtful expression on his face. That's when he saw something sitting on the ground, looking at him. It was a chicken. But, not an ordinary one though. Instead of feathers, this had scales on its body. It also had four limbs and its claws looked scary. It looked as big as a mature rooster and instead of a red comb, it had two little bumps on its head. It looked like a hybrid. For some reason, it reminded him of his mother's spirit. However, it was still a chicken. "It looks like... a chicken", Ryan said, with a pair of dead eyes. He no longer had any will to argue with the stupid deity. "Oh, my sweet summer child" (Yup, from GoT), Jian said after he sighed in disappointment. "What you see before you is one of the... No, actually, THE strongest beast spirit ever to exist on this planet. Yet you dont understand it's power... I'm truly disappointed in you, Ryan". This was the first time Jian had called the kid by his name. All the playfulness vanished from his face and a grim expression surfaced as he continued, "I'm worried for you kid".

"Why?", Ryan asked the god, with an expression equally serious as his, "What is wrong with this spirit?". "You see, this little guy here is... uh, weird. This little chicken here, represents your power. As you become stronger, it grows to finally become what it actually is. So, it gets a growth spurt at every 10 ranks you cultivate. It reaches its peak stage of life when you become a titled douluo. That's when you will undergo your greatest challenge as its host", Jian filled him in. Ryan didn't panic. Because, he knew there was no way out of this. He had asked for the strongest spirits himself. He asked with a calm expression, "Hmm. What is it's power? Does it control evil fire or something of sorts? Will it burn me from inside?".

"No, worse. It will take over you completely. Your consciousness, Ryan, will cease to exist. It does this by completely dominating your soul, i.e, your mental realm. Do you remember how the white tiger appeared (will appear in the story later) in front of Dai Mubai to offer him the sage powers? This will be the complete opposite of that. If the kitty tried to help, the chicken is here to make your body his. Although it is ultimately bad for you, it will still be like your kid. It's gonna live in your mental realm, out here of course, not in the pagoda. And it will see you as its parent. But, all that love will vanish once you reach Rank 90. Still, you can't blame it. It doesn't 'want' to do it, but more like it has to, to keep control of its own power", Jian replied.

Hearing this, Ryan looked at the chicken, which gave him an innocent look. "Is there any way to save both of us?", He asked. Jian stared at Ryan for a few seconds. He did expect this kid to ask about a way to be saved from this fate, but he never saw the 'both of us' part coming. He gave Ryan a gentle smile as he said, "Show me your other spirit. You can summon it even in here right?". Ryan nodded and summoned the bow. Jian examined it without touching, as he couldn't, even if he wanted to (ethereal form, remember?). When he saw the golden markings on the bow, his face brightened and a smile full of satisfaction bloomed on his face, as he said, "There might be one". Ryan felt a glimmer of hope when he heard this, and he immediately asked, "What is it?".

"To oppose the beast, you need something equally strong. Right now when I checked your tool spirit, I could feel its power. I'm sure this one will help you win against the beast. The domain this one has is related to domination isn't it?", Jian replied. Ryan nodded as Jian continued, "But, you must promise me to never add spirit rings to your beast spirit, until you are in full control of it". Ryan replied, "I was planning to do that anyway". Jian said, "I know, let me finish. You should only cultivate the bow. Once you're a titled douluo, use the power of the bow to suppress the beast. Before you ask about the effect of spirit rings on the growth of the beast, let me tell you something. The growth of that little chicken is based on your spirit power ranks, not your rings. So, once its power is harnessed by you, adding spirit rings to it will not be a problem. The effects of the rank skips will be neutralised by the power of the bow as well. Another thing you must do is to never ever manifest your beast spirit, no matter what situation you're in, until you've overcome it. Doing all of this will give you a much, much higher probability of survival. Do you understand?".

"So what you are saying is that my father's bow has the power to suppress even this monster? That means he must be the strongest person in the world. Then isn't his cultivation speed supposed to be insanely fast? And shouldn't he be able to kick Qian Daoliu's ass?", Ryan, who was relieved by the fact that there was a way to escape death immediately went into 'lost all tension' mode, and started asking unrelated questions. Jian's mouth twitched when he heard this and he instantly flicked Ryan on his forehead, but still answered his questions, as they did make a little sense, "No, I didn't say the 'silver bow' can suppress it. Your path of cultivation is gonna be extremely entertaining. At the end of it, yes, you will be able to suppress it using the bow. But you won't be doing so with the bow you have right now". Ryan frowned upon hearing this, but Jian didn't stop, "You will figure it out. And as for your father's cultivation speed, do you know old he is? Just slightly older (by 1 or 2 yrs) than Bibi Dong! By the time Daoliu reached 99, he was already a reaaaaallly old man. That too, he achieved through the help of Seraphim. Even Bibi Dong, with two spiders, reached that level with the aid of Rakshasa. But your father, just at this age he has already reached 98, through his own effort. You and the python only helped so much. Isn't that fast enough?! Too bad he can't move forward though". Ryan asked, "Can't move forward? What do you mean?"

"Ah.... Forget it. I don't wanna meddle in your life any more than I already have. I won't spoon-feed you any more. I only came to save your life and help you win your bet. So, if you want to become a god, just remember what we just talked about. Otherwise, the dragon god will descend once again", Jian said, waving his hand dismissively. Ryan was shocked. He knew the power of the dragon god. He said, "Dragon god will descend once again?", "Yes. That's how I know this spirit. The last time (which was also the only time) a spirit master had awakened this spirit (as a single spirit), she turned into a vessel of its power when she became a titled douluo, that only the dragon god himself could defeat. The god had to completely vaporize the person, who had done nothing wrong, just cause of the beast inside her. What's more surprising was that even though she was only at titled douluo level, the god had to use around 90% of his power to destroy her. The beast's power was horrifying and it was never seen since. That is, until today", Jian continued, "So, I hope you understand why I went to such lengths to talk to you about it".

Ryan nodded his head. "This beast, what is its power?", He asked. "Its power is in its name", replied Jian. "You never told me its name", Complained Ryan. "You never asked.", Jian retorted, and continued, "The Ancient Dragon-Phoenix of Chaos". "What do you mean by chaos?", Ryan asked with his eyes full of curiosity. "You will see", Jian said with grief slowly filling his face. He then started walking towards the empty space, as usual. But, his steps were slow and weak. "Hey!", Ryan called aloud. "I understand you telling me about the dangers of the spirits and stuff, and I promise you I won't use the spirit until I am able to, but why are you so adamant about not letting me die?". Jian continued walking as he said, "I only told you not to manifest is physically. There is an additional feature you can use anytime, as well as some physical benefits. You will understand that in due time. Otherwise, what's the point of having dual spirits?". Ryan was relieved to hear that. If he didn't use it at all, what was the point of having a second spirit? An OP one at that too. But, suddenly, he noticed something, which made him feel uneasy. Kong Jian's voice. His manly and sweet voice suddenly felt so hollow...… And lost. "About your question.....", Jian stopped at what seemed like the edge of his mental realm, and turned his head towards Ryan. Ryan was shocked. There was a single drop of tear making its way down Jian's extremely handsome face, which was now full of misery. He wore a painful smile as he continued, ".... I didn't wanna lose another one of my close friends to that beast". He then immediately vanished into thin air, leaving a stupefied Ryan alone in the mental realm.